Talon Walz had an undefeated season, was seeded in the top 10 in the state and made it to the quarterfinals of the state tournament, all in his third year of playing tennis.

The naturally-talented junior at Mingus Union High School went into the Boys Tennis Singles state tournament seeded No. 7 [eight of the 48 players that make it into the state tournament are seeded] after ending his perfect regular season with a win over Sedona Red Rock High School’s No. 1 singles player Cody Chartier in the Northern Arizona regional tournament.

“It was pretty cool [having an undefeated season],” Walz said. “That was my goal for the season. I didn’t play any Phoenix kids though, so I didn’t know how I’d compare [in the state tournament].”

Players from Phoenix and Tucson area schools tend to have “better” players because of they have bigger pools of talent. As a result, they usually get the recognition. Walz and Chartier were the only players from Northern Arizona who made appearances in the tournament. Chartier was out by the third round.

Walz had a bye in the first round thanks to his seeding, and then he easily beat Jacob Bunch of Buckeye Union in Round 2, 6-0, 6-0, on April 19 at the Paseo Racquet Center in Glendale. On April 20, Walz squared up with Logan Jones of Duncan High School and defeated him 6-2, 6-1, advancing to the quarterfinals.

For the full story, please see the Wednesday, May 1, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.